Anatomy of ... Sven-Goran Eriksson

Soon we will bid farewell, fond or otherwise, to the Swedish lothario who brightened up our newspapers - if not always the England team. Lee Honeyball casts a disbelieving eye over the Scandinavian's body: he never made much of an impression on the pitch, but he had women falling at his feet

You might think that having the same hairstyle as Mr Burns from The Simpsons would ring-fence you from imitators . But when 10-year-old Tom Sylvester attended a school fancy dress in 2002 he went as Sven ('He is more famous than Beckham,' he reasoned) , with a receding hairline shaved in. 'I thought he was going to look like a prat but he looks pretty good,' Tom's mum said, 'like a cross between Sven and a Klingon without the wrinkles.'

Eyes

Sven's acute case of 'wandering eye' extends beyond women (see Heart). In late 1996 Sven, who was Sampdoria coach at the time, agreed to join Blackburn the following summer, only to renege on the deal when Lazio made him an off er to stay in Italy. In 2003, just two years into the England job, Sven was pictured making a secret visit to see Roman Abramovich, just two days after the Russian had become owner of Chelsea. And January saw his most blatant piece of flirting yet, as he was caught in a tabloid sting when he met a 'Fake Sheikh' in Dubai who claimed to be buying Aston Villa. Told that he was wanted as coach, Eriksson soon told the 'sheikh' he was quitting as England coach after the World Cup and that he could even bring David Beckham with him.

Mouth

Described as an 'intellectual' by suave former FA chief Adam Crozier, Sven speaks four languages and is even said to read Tibetan poetry. Many read profundity into his early media briefings, but prolonged exposure has revealed the opposite to be true. Sometimes he makes matters worse by not speaking at all. When England lost 1-0 in Northern Ireland last September, Eriksson stood silent and 'close to tears', one insider said.

Heart

Any assertion that Sven lacks passion (Ian Wright compared his emotions to those of a tadpole) is contradicted by his success with women. When news of his aff air with Ulrika Jonsson became public he even made the 'shaggers' league' in the Sun's showbiz column. The acrimonious end of that relationship (Ulrika: 'He is behaving like a lying cad') didn't deter Sven from cheating on long-term girlfriend Nancy Dell'Olio again, this time with FA secretary Faria Alam (tabloid headline: 'Sven had me on a four poster'). But Nancy stuck by her £5m-ayear man.

Hand

Sven has never raised a hand in anger and he likes his players to be equally pacific (though captain David Beckham can get himself deliberately yellow-carded if he so chooses). In his book, Sven-Goran Eriksson on Football, he explains: 'I spend a lot of energy taking the aggression out of my players. All a player has to do is begin to argue with the referee, play dirty or quarrel with the opposition for there to be a danger that their performance will sink like a stone.' This was written before Sven had ever heard of Wayne Rooney, or considered an away match in Turkey.

Knee

It may be hard to imagine now, but Sven was a lower-league footballer in Sweden with Degerfors until a knee injury ended his career in 1975. He followed team-mate and current assistant Tord Grip (Eriksson: 'He thinks what I think and I think what he thinks') into coaching at Degerfors. Eriksson took over at Gothenburg in 1979, winning the Uefa Cup in 1982, and has since coached Benfica (twice), Roma, Fiorentina and Lazio, with whom he won Serie A in 2000. He took over the England job in January 2001.

Back pocket

On top of a £5m salary, Sven banks £750,000 a year through endorsements. He has invested this in property, owning a £4m home in London's Regent's Park and villas in Italy, Portugal and Sweden. 'I didn't take the job for the money and not for the weather, either!' he said on becoming coach in 2001. 'I took it because it's England.' Of course you did.

Feet

'He was not very tall,' former Gothenburg player Glenn Hysen would recall as his reaction to Sven's appointment as coach. Sven addressed this issue by wearing stacked shoes. The boyfriend of Ulrika Jonsson's former nanny, who caught the pair in bed, said: 'Sven wears these thick-soled shoes to make him look taller.' The nanny knew when Sven was in bed with Ulrika because he left his shoes on the landing.